Listed below are downloadable copies of reports etc. relevant to the area(s) of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Report of the Task Force on Violence against Women. A report of the Task Force on Violence Against Women, addressing the problem of mental, physical and sexual violence against women, with a particular focus on domestic violence

Domestic Abuse of Women and Men in Ireland - Report on the National Study of Domestic Abuse

The National Centre for Protection of Older People at University College Dublin - Older People's Experiences of Mistreatment and Abuse

This report describes older people's experiences of mistreatment and abuse, including the types of abuse experienced, the impact of the abusive experiences and the strategies which older people used to overcome their abusive experiences. To download a copy of this report click on the following link.

Evaluation of Intervention Programmes in Ireland working with Domestic Violence

In 1997 the Office of the Tánaiste published the findings and recommendations of the Task Force on Violence against Women. The resulting task force report contained recommendations for all aspects of responding to and preventing domestic abuse. It included a chapter relating to programmes working with violent men, with recommendations for their development. The programmes that existed in 1997 have since developed. New ones have begun and others are planned.

In June 2003 the Department of Justice and Equality commissioned an evaluation of the programmes working with domestic abusers in Ireland, to start in July 2003 and finish in July 2004. This is the report of that evaluation.

Victims Charter and Guide to the Criminal Justice System

The Victims Charter and Guide to the Criminal Justice System provides a written framework of rights and entitlements against which crime victims can measure the standard of treatment reveived in their dealings across all sections of the criminal justice system. This Charter will be of help to victims of crime and all those who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

This booklet, which was produced by the HSE, Adapt Domestic Abuse Services and Clare Haven Services, is a guide to employers in the identification and management of employees experiencing domestic abuse. It is also helpful for personnel with particular responsibility for occupational health and/or employee assistance programmes. It provides information to assist in recognising, responding and referring appropriately where an employee is experiencing domestic abuse.

The information in this booklet has been guided by the experience of members of the Public Awareness Sub-committee of the HSE Mid-West Regional Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women and a number of Human Resource Managers in the Mid-West region. It has also drawn on the work of employer and trade union organisations plus other bodies nationally and internationally.

The Development of a Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence

The Council of Europe (CoE) approved the establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CAHVIO) in December 2008 to prepare one or more legally binding instruments "to prevent and combat domestic violence including specific forms of violence against women, and to protect and support the victims of such violence as well as prosecute the perpetrators."

The CoE Convention on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence was agreed by the CoE in January 2011 and was opened for signature at the CoE Ministers Meeting in Istanbul in May 2011.

Although the Convention focuses on domestic and sexual violence against women, it also encourages Member States to apply its provisions on domestic violence to men. The Irish delegation argued strongly for the inclusion of domestic and sexual violence towards men to be included within the Convention.

Cosc has examined the Convention and has requested observations on potential policy and legislative implications from relevant government departments and state agencies. Following receipt of the observations, consideration will be given to any issues which need to be addressed. It is hoped that this will be quickly followed by a submission to the Government on the question of signature of the Convention by Ireland.

The agreed Convention and Explanatory Memorandum along with further information on the Convention is available at the Council of Europe website.

A leaflet entitled 'Safe from Fear, safe from Violence', explaining the challenges of the 'Istanbul Convention', can be ordered at: docrequest@coe.intmailto:docrequest@coe.int or Click hereto download

The Publication by the Law Reform Commission of an Uncertified Restatement and Revised Domestic Violence Act 1996

The Law Reform Commission has recently published an uncertified restatement and revised Domestic Violence Act 1996. (Click here for a link to the revised Act on the Commission's website).

The Social and Health Care Teachers against Violence - Teachers' Guidebook and Handbook

The Social and Health Care Teachers against Violence - Teachers Guidebook and Teachers Handbook were produced by Dr Mary Allen et al (2010), as a result of a European Project "Social and Health Care Teachers against Violence, HEVI 2008-2010". The first stage of the project involved a survey of 104 Third level teachers in 7 European countries which was undertaken to assess the extent of the need for further training and curriculum development on the issue of intimate partner violence (IPV). The findings of this survey reinforced the lack of attention given to the issue in many training curricula, and the need for upskilling of teachers who may undertake this work.

The purpose of the materials produced is to prepare teachers in third level institutions to address this difficult and sensitive topic with their social and health care students, and to provide them with the information, curriculum outline and teaching methods necessary to do this in a professional manner. The materials seek to:

support teachers to update their knowledge of intimate partner violence (IPV), including contemporary European research, and new principles and measures to prevent violence.

improve teachers’ abilities to meet new challenges of IPV prevention based on practical professional experience in the Social and Health Care sectors at national levels, and on regional cooperation at the European level.

promote involvement of the teachers in the curriculum development at institutional and national planning level on IPV issues.

transfer innovative and good practice in vocational and further education through networking and cooperation between educational institutions on the issue of IPV at European level.

HSE Safeguarding Data Report

In December 2014, the HSE launched its safeguarding policy for older persons or persons with a disability that, as a result of physical or intellectual impairment, may be at risk of abuse.

The “Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons at Risk of Abuse - National Policy and Procedures”, which applies to all HSE and HSE funded services, outlines a number of principles to promote the welfare of vulnerable people and safeguard them from abuse. These include a requirement that all services must have a publicly declared “No Tolerance” approach to any form of abuse and must promote a culture which supports this ethos.

The HSE’s National Safeguarding Office has, for the first time, published safeguarding data reported to the Safeguarding and Protection Teams (SPTs) in each of its nine Community Healthcare Organisations (CHOs).